The Pearl Problem
by Sneebs
Summary: Oneshot: While Dean and Castiel are fighting in s14e13, "Lebanon", Castiel senses that there's something odd about the human in front of him. (Season 14 spoilers)


**Oneshot: While Dean and Castiel are fighting in s14e13, "Lebanon", Castiel senses that there's something odd about the human in front of him. (Season 14 spoilers)**

* * *

Dean wheezed and looked into familiar blue eyes. Those eyes were otherworldly, and so was the situation he'd gotten them all into.

The ancient enchanted artifact he and Sam had discovered had worked, just not in the way the brothers expected. They'd hoped it would rid Dean of the archangel that was locked up inside his head. But things never seemed to work out the way the Winchesters wanted them to, especially where magic was concerned.

John Winchester had mysteriously returned from the dead, and now they were brawling against two hardass angels, one of which was Cas. The day had unraveled into one serious fustercluck.

Castiel barely hesitated before delivering another punch into the elder Winchester's stomach. Dean doubled over. He wasn't too keen on being on the other side of the angel's wrath, especially when this new version of reality seemed to have restored all of Castiel's angelic mojo.

A fist came flying at his face. This time, Dean was quick enough to avoid a collision with it. He ducked and Cas' knuckles just barely clipped his ear.

Taken off balance by his missed throw, Castiel faltered. It was a brief lapse, but it was still long enough for the angel and hunter to lock eyes. Something seemed to click in the angel; his eyes widened and he staggered backward several steps.

"Cas?" Dean swallowed hard and winced at the aching in his jaw where the angel had managed to hit him. He moved to close the distance between them and grabbed Castiel's shoulders.

Castiel threw up his arms, casting Dean off of him. He looked into the hunter's eyes again, frowning.

Dean's breath caught in his throat. Was that recognition in his eyes? Did Castiel remember him?

"Cas?" he said.

Castiel cocked his head. "Michael."

Dean's body went cold. The look in the angel's eyes _had _been recognition; but it hadn't been for him.

But...no, that was impossible. Dean had Michael locked away, buried deep inside Dean's head. Was Cas able to sense him because of his angel mojo? Or, was Michael not nearly as hidden as Dean had previously thought?

"Dean!" A cry from across the small restaurant.

Dean swerved. It was Sam, who had collapsed on the floor. His hand hovered over a banishing sigil he had painted in blood. Dean's heart skipped a beat. Was that Sam's blood?

"Sammy, wait!" Dean held out a hand and crouched like he was facing off with a dangerous wild animal. He turned his attention to Castiel and shook his head. "Come on, Cas. You have to remember me."

"I do," Cas agreed. "Michael, you changed hosts."

"I'm not _him."_ His voice had gained an edge of desperation. "Cas, you know me."

"I do not understand." The angel narrowed his eyes. His voice was gruff. "I can sense Michael in you. Where is he?"

Dean dropped his eyes to the floor. "I- He's...locked up."

"Impossible. A human cannot subdue an archangel."

The angel's eyes were locked onto him. It was strange; everything Dean saw before him was the Cas he knew and called family. But there was something very different about this version of the celestial being. Perhaps it was the way Castiel looked at Dean. There was no warmth behind those ocean eyes, no spark of familiarity. They were cold, arctic.

The frown didn't vanish from Castiel's face as he reached a palm up toward Dean's forehead. Dean realized what he was doing and stepped backward so rapidly he nearly tripped into the restaurant's narrow counter.

"Whoa, not so fast!" Dean said firmly.

"You must release him."

Dean forced a laugh. "That suggestion officially gets the award for Worst Idea Ever."

"He is an archangel of the-"

"Of the Lord, I know." Dean shrugged. "I know you think that, Cas. But this Michael? He's not the one you remember. He's not even from this world."

Castiel's expression did not change as he considered what Dean had said. "Of course he's not from this world," the angel finally said. "He's a celestial being. He's not from any specific world."

Dean sighed. "Oh boy," he muttered. This was going to be harder than he had thought. All this trouble, because of a stupid pearl. The magical item had been meant to get him out of the whole Michael mess in the first place, but it seemed to have only accentuated the issue.

Plus, he'd forgotten how much of a hardass Cas had been before he became part of the Winchester family. Castiel may have been a heavenly being, but it certainly was hell trying to argue with him.

When Castiel stepped forward again, his palm splayed and held toward Dean's head, Dean had nowhere to go. He was already cornered against the counter. In the last moment before the angel's hand made contact, Dean dropped to the ground. It was his only option; can't go around it, can't go through it, can't go over it...so he made the abrupt decision to go under the angel. Dean crawled on his hands and knees until he'd made it to the other side of Cas, which admittedly was a more difficult feat than he'd expected, because of Dean's size. When he stood, Castiel still hadn't turned around to face him yet.

It took Castiel a second to regain understanding of the situation. The angel was probably taken aback by the originality of the move. If the Winchesters did anything well, it was improvisation.

The moment Cas took to turn around was all Dean needed. He bit his lip in a silent apology and kicked hard at the back of the celestial being's knees. Castiel buckled and collapsed on the checkered tile floor.

"Sammy, now!" the hunter cried.

Sam, who had been awaiting a cue the entire time, slammed his palm onto the banishing sigil he'd drawn on the floor. As though a finale of fireworks had suddenly been released into the small restaurant, the room erupted into blinding light. Dean squinted and tried to shield his eyes with his hands, but the light was so bright it seemed to permeate his skin.

When the room faded back to the dim lighting provided by the restaurant's hanging lamps, Dean eagerly looked toward where Castiel had stood. The angel was entirely gone, with not even a feather to show for his recent presence.

"Well, now we know banishing sigils still work in this reality," Sam said.

Dean shot Sam a look that screamed, _no shit._

He sighed. Who knows how long he could go on like this, restraining Michael _and _fighting Cas? They had no choice; They had to reverse the pearl's magic. The Winchesters would have to be torn apart once again.

Dean berated himself. He should have known: if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.


End file.
